Combing machine



April 9 J. w. NVASMITH 2,154,281

COMBING MACHINE Filed Sept. 20, 1937 Patented Apr. 11, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COMBING MACHINE John William Nasmith, Heaton Mersey, Manchester, England 2 Claims.

The invention relates to textile combing machines of the rectilinear type employed in the combing of wool fibres.

In the use of this type of machine it is the 5 usual practice to feed a number of wool fibre slivers, generally twenty to twenty-four in numher, to a gill feed device within the machine nippers. There is thus a continuity of sliver feed co-terminous with the lengths of the slivers, but the large number of sliver bobbins necessitates the provision of a large bobbin creel with consequent occupation of a great amount of floor space.

The feeding of fibres to the combing machine in the form of a lap is known, but this is impracticable, in modern wool combing machines of the type now being dealt with, for two reasons. The gilling of a heavy lap is beyond the capacity of the precedent gilling process; and when a new lap is to be put on the combing machine it will not pass into the gill feed of the latter. stoppage of the machine for the adjustment of a new lap is therefore in all cases necessary. Also the feeding of a wool comber with two laps is known, and, whilst the preparation of the said laps eases the previous gilling process, a new lap which is to be put on the combing machine refuses to engage and pass through the gill feed, without stoppage of the machine and q adjustment of the new lap end within such gill feed,

The present invention has for object the eliminationof the necessity of the single sliver feed first referred to and its disadvantages; the rendering of the previous gilling process easy and practicable; and the obviation of stoppage of the combing machine-corresponding increase of the daily production of the same thus being obtained-when a new lap is to be'entered to the feed.

To realise these advantages the present invention consists in the production of a single continuous feed lap of indefinite length during the operation of the combing machine, by feeding M thereto at least three lap thicknesses of irregular lengths of which the internal lap is the longest; converting this internal lapinto an external lap in substitution of the first which runs out; and feeding the end of a new and full internal. lap between the external laps. The new lap being introduced is always the internal one and goes through the gill feed without difficulty or stoppage.

A very convenient method of carrying the inreference to the accompanying drawing, which vention into effect will now be described with.

is a diagrammatic showing of three lap positions in a lap creel. In this drawing A is a fibre lap of for example sixteen inches diameter, that is to say a sixteen inch lap; B is a fourteen inch lap; and C is a twelve inch lap. Feed is commenced by passing the ends of the three laps together through the rollers D to the combing machine, the end of the sixteen inch lap A being between the ends of laps B and C. At this period therefore A is the internal lap. With the laps oithe dimensions given, lap C will first run out. The lap Astill engaged by the rollers D-is therefore brought from its position to the position of exhausted lap C, without any stoppage of the machine; a new sixteen inch lap is placed in position A; and as the former lap A is now in the lap C position, this, and the still unexhausted lap B, form the external lap components, and the end of the new lap A is fed between these. As the lap B is the next to run out, due to its shorter remaining length, the remainder of the lap which is now feeding from A position is brought to the lap B position, and a further new lap being placed in position A, its end is brought down and fed between the running laps of positions B and C. The formation of a continuous and endless feed lap can thus proceed indefinitely.

More than three lap components might be employed in carrying out the invention, but as the lowest possible number, three, gives the desired conditions and is most advantageous both in the preceding gilling and also in manipulation in the creel, as also in affording the greatest possible degree of saving of space in the latter, an increase upon such number is not considered necessary or desirable.

' I claim:

1. Process for the production of a single continuous feed lap of indefinite length in a wool combing machine of the type hereinbefore referred to, consisting in feeding to such machine during its operation at least three lap thicknesses of irregular'lengths of which the internal lap is the longest; converting this lap into an external lap in substitution of the first which runs out; and feeding the end of a new and full internal lap between the external laps.

2. The production of a fibre feed lap of indefinite length as claimed in claim 1, the three lap thicknesses passing together through a roller pair from creel positions and the internal lap being movable in the creel to a position therein from which it can be fed, for conversion to an external lap in the manner hereinbefore set forth.

JOHN WILLIAM NASMITH. 

